"SKT Also Raised It" Galaxy S21 Subsidy War... All Three Carriers Offer Up to 500,000 KRW Support

Samsung Electronics held the 'Galaxy Unpacked 2021' event early on the 15th and unveiled the smartphone 'Galaxy S21' series. On the same day, promotional materials for the related products were wrapped at the Samsung Electronics Delight Shop in Gangnam-gu.
Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The war over official subsidies among the three major mobile carriers surrounding Samsung Electronics' new flagship smartphone, the 'Galaxy S21,' is fierce. Following LG Uplus and KT, SK Telecom has also joined the increase battle. With official subsidies of up to 500,000 KRW available, the actual purchase price drops to the low 400,000 KRW range.

According to industry sources on the 20th, SK Telecom set the preliminary official subsidies for the Galaxy S21 series by plan at 225,000 to 500,000 KRW. The same applies to all Galaxy S21 models, with amounts depending on the plan price: 225,000 KRW for 0teen, 270,000 KRW for Slim, 356,000 KRW for Standard, 450,000 KRW for Prime, and 500,000 KRW for Platinum. This is a significant jump from the initially announced 87,000 to 170,000 KRW on the pre-order day.

This move is a response to LG Uplus and KT setting official subsidies up to 500,000 KRW, which clearly widened the gap with the leading operator SK Telecom. Earlier, LG Uplus fired the starting shot of the official subsidy war by setting preliminary subsidies for the Galaxy S21 series by plan at 268,000 to 500,000 KRW. Compared to SK Telecom (up to 170,000 KRW) and KT (up to 240,000 KRW) announced on the same day, this amount is more than double for the highest plan. Just one day later, KT raised its official subsidies to 150,000 to 500,000 KRW, igniting the marketing war.

Considering that the official subsidies from the three carriers for the previous Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Note20 were around a maximum of 240,000 KRW, all three companies are seen to have made a decisive move. With Samsung Electronics, the manufacturer, launching an all-out marketing campaign, the carriers are also interpreted to be competing fiercely to secure 5G subscribers. Inside and outside the industry expect that the suppressed smartphone replacement demand this year will largely shift to 5G phones. Additionally, the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to a shortage of marketing funds at the distribution network level, which is also a background factor for the increase in official subsidies.

However, the preliminary subsidies are not final and will be confirmed on the pre-opening day, the 22nd. Based on the highest plan, if the official subsidy includes an additional subsidy (15%), the Galaxy S21, priced at 999,900 KRW, can be purchased for as low as 424,900 KRW.